Back to the Diamond
The thought started gnawing at Richard Brehaut as far back as freshman year, as he sat in his dorm room, watching the College Baseball World Series.
It was a constant poke of what could have been, and it subsisted for the UCLA rising junior quarterback, and it ate at him, and finally in December, it won out.
Brehaut started thinking about joining the UCLA baseball team, picked up a bat again for really the first time in three years and started hacking around. Rudimentary discussions with head football coach Rick Neuheisel blossomed into a full-blown, "Can I really do this?" By mid-January the steps were in place to turn the nagging feeling into an actuality, and now, six weeks later, it has.
Brehaut has joined the UCLA baseball team, which was recently ranked No. 2 in Baseball America's preseason poll, but will still participate with the football team during spring ball.
Brehaut was rumored to be joining the team as far back as two weeks ago, but head baseball coach John Savage wanted to have him try out first. Brehaut has made the team as a designated hitter and backup catcher and participated in his first practice on Wednesday.
"It's always been in the back of my head, 'Maybe I could do this, maybe I could still play," Brehaut said. "If I was going to take advantage, it was this year or never. I haven't played in a live game since June of '08. But I gave it some serious thought, and coming back from the break, when I asked Coach Neuheisel, he said if that's something you really want to do and your heart desires, go ahead, go for it. He's the reason why I even gave it consideration. He gave me the green light, and it was a matter of him getting in touch with Savage, telling them that I had interest."
Soon enough, interest turned into full-blown preparation.
Brehaut started training for baseball during winter break, spending day after day at Athletic Republic training center in Rancho Cucamonga. It just felt right.
"I was in that cage hitting until I had blisters on my hand," Brehaut said. "It was something I was always in love with. In high school, I was pretty successful. My senior year, I didn't play, and I didn't get to see where I could've gone in the draft. I'm excited to be out there again. It feels really natural."
So does gripping a football, though, and that is going to be the hard part.
Brehaut knows full well what he's risking with this decision.
As a sophomore in 2010, Brehaut completed 119-of-212 passes for 1,296 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions for the 4-8 Bruins. He is expected to compete for the starting quarterback position with junior Kevin Prince, who is returning from knee surgery that cost him most of last season, and perhaps true freshman wunderkind Brett Hundley, Scout.com's third-ranked quarterback in the class of 2011.
Brehaut has made it clear to the UCLA coaching staff - both, actually - that football is his clear-cut priority, and that he will not miss any spring ball or individual throwing sessions.
"Here's the thing, I told the coaches, football is 100 percent my first priority," Brehaut said. "I'm on scholarship for football, and I need the coaches to understand that if it comes between baseball and football, that's where my heart really, really is. When spring ball comes around, I'm not going to be with the baseball team. I'm going to be competing for the quarterback spot. I can't afford not to - we're going to be competing in the spring. The first thing they needed to understand is football is my priority."
Neuheisel stands by his choice to let his potential starting quarterback make such a risky decision, one that Neuheisel said he would honor during Brehaut's recruiting process, if it ever came up. But he has also been up-front about the arrangement, and has made it clear that he expects Brehaut to fulfill all of his football obligations.
"Richard came to me and asked if he could give it a whirl, and I said, 'Absolutely," Neuheisel said. "But he also understands I have to make the determination of starting quarterback by who's there. Makes him have a cost-benefit analysis. But it would've been disingenuous to tell him he couldn't try."
And that's all this is about for Brehaut, giving it a try.
When something gnaws at you like this has eaten at Brehaut, it can't be ignored.
"Obviously, people outside of the situation are not going to understand," Brehaut said. "They think I'm giving up on football, giving up on competing. But I have an opportunity that doesn't come around really often. I would forever think if I didn't play baseball, what if? I'm a competitor, I could never live with myself if I left it like that. To not pursue this opportunity is not in my personality. I need to compete.
"Baseball was my life growing up," he continued. "It was my youth. Little league, travel ball year around. It's in my blood. Freshman year I picked up a football, and fell in love, too. It's a nice change from baseball. Football is more exciting, a lot more big plays. But at the same time, playing football is a whole different atmosphere.
"It's a whole other animal, but it's an animal that's been in me since six years old."
Jon, Brehaut is still a true sophomore not a junior as stated in your article.
He'll be a junior next season. I wrote "rising" junior, because that indicates he'll be one for next football season.
Okay, but the article is written now and that doesn't really make sense to call him a "junior quarterback" unless you were writing something like "Next year, as a junior quarterback...". I thought you just made a mistake, but if that's how you want it, it's your article.
Sorry, I guess that's newspaper style. When we're writing about next year's football, it's not really accurate to call someone by their 2010 designation. Thanks keeping me honest, though.
Some people really need to stop F'n nitpicking already.
Everyone on this blog thinks they are a freaken copywriter. Leave Jon alone.
Coming off a 4-8 season and a new playbook, I wish he would be more dedicated. Doing passing drills with his fb teammates rather than playing baseball. The team really needs him more than the baseball team could ever.
Anon:
Don't worry about it. Brehaut knows the deal. Coach knows that his job rests on how this years team performs. This is now Hundley's program and offense to run, whether he is ready or not. Hundley will be throwing the ball, working with receivers, and have his head deep in the playbook in an effort to be ready for the first game of the season. If CRN goes down, he is going to go down swinging with Hundley leading the team. Brehaut knows it, and so does Prince. They will be battling for the backup job, and right now that is wide open.
No, we won't leave Jon alone! He's ours to love and sometimes we have to correct him!! :-P
At least it wasn't UB
What a pain in the ass some people are........after your sophomore season is over, which it is, he becomes a Junior. If it doesnt make sense to you then your an idiot!
Remember, this is about UCLA Sports not column editing
Just read that UCLA is on the verge of signing Nevada's RB coach, Jim Mastro. Do you have any details on this Jon? Any truth to the rumors? I think he'd be a great signing especially if we plan on running the Pistol next year.
Good for Brew.
Hope he does well.